Cast-off



PATENTBD JAN. 5, 1904.

A. MJZIEGLER. A

GAST-OPF.

AEPLIGATION FILED PEB. a. 1902.

No MODL.

UNITED STATES atei'lised .anuary 5., 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED M. ZIEGLER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

CAST-OFF.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters liatent No. 748,908, datedJanuary 5, 1904.

Application iiledf'ehruary 8, 1902. Serial No. 93,160. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED M. ZIEGLER, a' citizen of the UnitedStates,residin g at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Cast-OES, of which thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention has for its object to improve wearing-apparel of Whatevernature wherein ball-and-socket fastenin gs are commonly em ployed.

Prior to my invention it has been customary to suspend from the lowerbar of a metallic loop applied loosely to a doubled portion of theshoulder-strap near its front end a cast-off comprising a leather orother strap provided with a post or stud and a suitable socket, bothsaid post or stud and socket being permanently connected with thelastnamed strap. ln this class of suspender it is customary to threadthe material of the casto strap through the slot of the loop and to thenpermanently connect the cast-off strap with said loop.

In accordance with my invention I employ instead of the usual loop aloop-plate having permanently attached to it one member of aball-and-socket fastening, the other member of said fastening beingconnected to a flexible member permanently secured to the button or endpiece, so that when the Suspenders are to be thrown od the shoulders itis only necessary to pull the flexible member of the ball-and-socketfastening that is attached only to the button or end piece from thatmember of said ball-and-socket fastening that is attached to theloop-plate secured to the shoulder-strap of the suspender. I have alsodevised a safety device that is connected with that member of theball-and-socket fastening that is attached to the button-piece. Thissafety device coacts with the part of the balland-socket fasteningattached to the loopplate or with the loop plate itself. This safetydevice sustains the wearing strain to which the ball-and-socketfastening ofthe suspender is subjected, and the cast-0E having thesocket embracing the post or stud is relieved from the duty ofsustaining the strain on the suspender in use, the socket actdevice as aslotted sustaining-plate, and

through the slots therein I pass the web constituting the button or endpieces, said web being free to slide in said slots and being stitchedone to the other. That this plate may cooperate with the loop-plate andperform the functions of a safety device in one of the best forms nowknown to me I have provided said plate with a hole to engage the post orstud connected with said loop-plate. The safety device sustains thestrain of the end pieces in Wearing the Suspenders. The socket coactingwith the post or stud is carried by a piece of webbing that ispermanently connected with the sustaining-plate. The safetydevice may,however, be a projection entering the loop-plate and extending into aslot therein.

The particular features in which my invention resides will be pointedout in the specification and set forth in the claims.

Figure l shows part of a suspender embodying my invention, one-half ofthe end piece being shown as partially linished at its end. Fig. 2 is anenlarged section in the line m. Fig. 3 is a view showing part of thecast-off shown in Fig. l, but with the iexible and one member of thecast-od. Fig. 5 shows in two views a modified member of the cast-off.

The shoulder-strap A is and may be of any usual shape and material.

The shoulder-strap A is threaded through the slot a in a metallicloop-plate a', having projecting from it a post or stud a2, forming onememberof aso-called ball-and-soeket fastening, the post shown having asubstan tially spherical head and a shank. The upper edge of the lowercross-bar of the loop-plate ct' is cut away through the slot a to leaveaconvex portion a3 immediately over the stud.

The cast-olf is composed of a piece of flexiyble material b', providedwith the second member or socket b of the ballandsocket fastening, saidsocket being of the usual sha pe IOO and engaging the post or stud. Thiscast-off is attached by a rivet d to a sustaining-plate c', having slotsc and c4, that receive, respectively, the two narrow Woven webs ff, eachhaving a buttonhole e and which when united one to the other by stitchesf2 constitute the button or end pieces. These webs slide freely in theseslots, and the cast-off having outone member of the ball-and-socketjoint is connected with said plate permanently and is removable with itfrom the post or stud of theball-and-socket fastening that is secured tothe loop-plate always connected with the suspender-webbing. Herein Iutilize the plate c as a safety device, and, as herein provided, I haveshown two forms of safety device. One form is represented by the hole c2in an upward extension of the plate c and the other by a projection orauxiliary holding device c3. The hole c2 may be slipped over the post orstud before the socket of the cast-off is applied thereto, and the platein engagement with the stud helps sustain the strains of use on thebutton or end pieces, and the socket in engagement with the post or studacts to retain the plate c in operative engagement with the loop-plateand its post or stud. So, also, the projection c3 by entering the slot aand overlapping the convex portion a3 thereof immediately above the baseof the post or stud serves to sustain a portion of the strain, thusrelieving` the strain on the post or stud. Either the plate with thehole embracing the stud or the projection overlapping the edge a3 may beused as a safety device, and both together add to the greater efficiencyof the safety device and not only serve to make the suspender moredurable, but preferable for wear. In this way it will be noticed thatthe cast-off may be entirely disconnected from the post or studconnected with the shoulderstrap when it is desired to throw thesuspenders from the shoulders, leaving the post or stud connected withthe shoulder-strap, and so also it will be noticed that the strain onthe cast-off is obviated.

It will be observed that the hole c2 of the plate c is slipped over theouter exposed end of the post or stud, and in this condition the socketof the cast-off is applied to the post or stud and retains the safetydevice in position on the free outer end of the stud. To detach the endpiece and cast-off from the shoulderstrap requires only that thecast-off be first pulled off the stud, and thereafter the safety devicemay be disconnected from the post or stud or the plate.

My invention is applicable not only with suspenders, but also with otherclasses of wearing-apparel, both for man and beast-as, for instance,gloves, shoes, skirt-bands, hose, blankets, and other things.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

l. A slotted metallic loop-plate having a post or stud, a exiblecast-off having a socket, and a safety device coacting with a rigid partof the loop-plate, to relieve the strain of the cast-o and socket on thepost or stud.

2. A fastening for detachably connecting two parts, one of said partsbeing provided with a post 01 stud, and the other part with a socket toengage said post or stud, combined with a safety device secured to thepart carrying the socket and adapted to engage the post or stud of thefastening between the socket and the part carrying the post or stud.

3. A loop-plate having a .post or stud, a flexible strap having a socketfor engagement with the post or stud, means with which said flexiblestrap is connected, and a safety device also connected to the meanscarrying the exible strap and engaging the post or stud behind the partthereof engaged by the socket.

4. A plate provided with a post or stud, a part to be sustained by saidplate, a cast-off secured to said part and having a socket to engagesaid post or stud, and a safety device also secured to said part anddetachably connected to the said plate, the socket of the cast-offengaging the post or stud outside of the safety device to preventdisengagement of the safety device from said plate.

5. A plate having a post or stud, a sustaining-plate detachably hung onsaid post or stud and a piece of flexible material connected with saidsustaining-plate below the point of attachment of the sustaining-platewith the stud or post, said piece 0f iexible material being providedwith a socket to engage said post or stud and maintain saidsustaining-plate thereon.

6. A slotted plate having a post, a sustaining-plate having a holeengaging said post, exible material connected with said sustaining-platebelow the hole therein engaging said post, and provided with a socketembracing the outer end of said post.

7. A plate having a post provided with a ball-shaped head, a socket,means carrying said socket, a sustaining-plate hung on said post, and asuspender-end piece carried by said sustaining-plate, said socketengaging the ball-shaped head outside the sustainingplate and retainingthe plate on said post.

8. A slotted plate having a post, a sustaining-plate embracing said postand provided with a projection entering said slot, and means carried bysaid sustaining-plate and engaging the outer end of said post after thesustaining-plate has been applied thereto to retain the sustaining-plateon the post.

9. A slotted plate having a post, a second plate having a flexible strapsuitably connected at one end to said second plate, and also providedwith means for detachably securing the second plate to the slottedplate, said iexible connection having a socket at its free end to engagethe said post and retain the plates in engagement.

IIO

10. A plate adapted to be sustained by a strap, said plate having onemember of a balland socket fastening, and a slotted plate adapted tosustain two flexible end pieces, combined with a flexible strap providedat its free end with the other member of the ball-and-soeket fastening,said slotted plate having an auxiliary holding device to engage thefirst-named plate.

11. In a suspender, a plate having a post or stud, a metallic safetydevice comprising a projection to engage the said plate, a flexi-

